Bentley Little - BEHIND

German version (for the English version scroll down further):

Der 65-jährige, US-amerikanische Schriftsteller Bentley Little beherrscht die Kunst, Banalitäten des alltäglichen Lebens mit skurrilen und grotesken Begebenheiten des dystopischen Surrealismus zu vermischen. Seine Werke erinnern daher stets an (Alb-)Träume oder aus den Fugen geratene Paralleluniversen, in denen oftmals unsichere bis labile Hauptfiguren mit den vielschichtigen, moralischen Abgründen der menschlichen Psyche konfrontiert werden. Nicht selten verleiht der "Master of the Dark and Grotesque" seinen Akteuren diesen bedrückenden Anstrich es nicht richtig gemacht, gar vollkommen versagt zu haben und den gesellschaftlichen Konventionen nicht länger zu genügen. Bentley Little, der mit seiner Frau in Arizona lebt, lässt gerne mal einen gesellschaftskritischen Subtext einfließen, den er mit verzerrten Realitäten, einem deftigen Schuss düsterem Humor und dem unbegreiflich Makabren aromatisiert. Aufgrund seiner kommunikativen und bildhaften Erzählweise, wird die Leserschaft, des 2024 unter dem gleichen Titel erschienen Weirdo-Horror-Trips "BEHIND", unmittelbar in einen unheilvollen, beklemmenden und gierigen Schlund gerissen.

Südkalifornien, 2020, inmitten der Corona-Pandemie. Als Alex Lowry und seine Arbeitskollegin Britta Strait arbeitslos werden, beschließen sie ihren eigenen Lieferservice "Strait To You" zu etablieren. Nach einigen Anlaufschwierigkeiten und Umstrukturierungen, hin zu einem immer spezielleren Kundenkreis, brummt das Geschäft. Die ersten Einnahmen sind zu verzeichnen und die diskreten Lieferungen werden immer außergewöhnlicher, extremer und offensichtlich auch illegaler. Alex Frau Jennifer ist zwar nicht sonderlich begeistert von dem Werdegang ihres Ehemanns, akzeptiert jedoch zähneknirschend seine neue Berufswahl. Unterdessen erinnert sich Alex an seine Kindheit in Baltimore. An seine alte Kirchengemeinde, den Mann mit dem Hut und das Haus hinter dem Haus seiner Eltern. Das Haus, das nur er sehen konnte. In dem die singende Frau wohnte. Und just bei einem der sporadischen Besuche bei Jennifers Eltern bemerkt Alex ebenfalls ein Haus hinter dem seiner Schwiegereltern. Ein Haus, das gar nicht da sein dürfte. Doch weder seine Frau, noch deren Eltern scheinen Anstoß an der seltsamen Anomalie zu nehmen. Und als das Haus plötzlich wieder verschwunden ist, scheinen sich auch ihre dahingehend nebulösen Gedankenschwaden allmählich in Wohlgefallen aufzulösen. Doch das wird nicht so bleiben. Denn etwas Böses ist in dem Haus. Etwas Niederträchtiges...und es mischt die Realität mit dem beängstigend Abwegigen. Dem Irregulären! Diese beklemmende Ungewissheit und die Unsicherheit des unvorhersehbar Neuen und Verkehrten hat Bentley Little, auf den 400 Seiten im amerikanischen Buchformat, die locker 600 Seiten in einem regulären Taschenbuch füllen könnten, fesselnd und nervenaufreibend zu Papier gebracht.

English version:

- grotesque mystery-horror trip, like something out of a parallel universe -

The 65-year-old American writer Bentley Little has mastered the art of blending the banalities of everyday life with the bizarre and grotesque events of dystopian surrealism. His works thus always evoke (night)mares or parallel universes gone awry, in which often insecure or unstable protagonists are confronted with the multifaceted moral abysses of the human psyche. The "Master of the Dark and Grotesque" frequently imbues his characters with a disturbing sense of having done something wrong, even of having failed completely and of no longer being able to conform to societal conventions. Bentley Little, who lives with his wife in Arizona, likes to weave in a socially critical subtext, which he flavors with distorted realities, a healthy dose of dark humor and the incomprehensibly macabre. Due to its communicative and vivid narrative style, the readership of the weirdo-horror trip "BEHIND", published in 2024 under the same title, is immediately drawn into an ominous, oppressive and greedy abyss.

Southern California, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Alex Lowry and his coworker Britta Strait lose their jobs, they decide to start their own delivery service, "Strait To You". After some initial difficulties and restructuring to cater to an increasingly niche clientele, business booms. They start making money and their discreet deliveries become ever more unusual, extreme, and apparently, more and more illegal. Alex's wife, Jennifer, isn't exactly thrilled with her husband's career path, but she grudgingly accepts his new profession. Meanwhile, Alex reminisces about his childhood in Baltimore: his old church community, the man with the hat and the house behind his parents' house—the house only he could see, where the singing woman lived. And during one of his sporadic visits to Jennifer's parents' house, Alex notices a house behind his in-laws' house as well—a house that shouldn't even be there. But neither his wife nor her parents seem bothered by the strange anomaly. And when the house suddenly disappears again, their nebulous thoughts on the matter gradually seem to dissolve into void. But this will not last. For something evil is in the house. Something vile...and it mixes reality with the frighteningly bizarre. The irregular! This oppressive uncertainty and the insecurity of the unpredictably new and the wrong is what Bentley Little has captured so compellingly and nerve-wrackingly on paper in the 400 pages of the American book format, which could easily fill 600 pages in a regular paperback.

Bentley Little's ultimate intentions remain shrouded in mystery for a long time. The inexplicable and mysterious events of the grotesque mystery-horror trip "BEHIND" feel like disturbing descriptions from a parallel universe. A diffuse, mystical and strangely bottomless sense of unease spreads. Although the circumstances seem perfectly normal, the events themselves are anything but. On their daily rounds, Alex, Britta and their employees repeatedly encounter highly bizarre situations, due in no small part to the fact that their assignments, as well as their clients, are becoming increasingly dubious. Alex's thoughts and dreams also become increasingly confused and dark, until nothing seems to make sense anymore. The enigmatic incidents, which barely fit into any rational worldview, accumulate over time and eventually spiral completely out of control. People disappear, animals are harmed, people die and houses, streets and shops simply appear where they weren't before. Here, they repeatedly encounter the dark-skinned beauty with the black hair, who constantly sings her wordless, soundless song and sows malevolent thoughts. To get to the bottom of these extremely strange occurrences, Alex, Jennifer and Britta must confront the danger directly. "BEHIND" has something convoluted, conspiratorial and supernatural about it, gradually escalating into an exalted madness. The striking ignorance that weighs on both the protagonists and the readers is simply captivating. Meanwhile, the atmospherically unsettling crackle unfolds its own unique sound. Bentley Little and his extravagant works are simply so wonderfully and perplexing different!

A detailed interview with Bentley Little (in English and German) is currently being prepared..., so keep your eyes on LACK OF LIES!!!

(Janko)